Polymer architecture

Make Archtects reshape the London skyline

London-based Make Architects have designed this nine-storey building with its asymmetrical pattern, which, according to the Arch In Home website, ‘is determined by the constraints of the site, with the southern elevation curving gently to address the Monument and define an enlarged and newly activated public square at ground level. This elevation is clad in a faceted glazed facade which reflects the Monument to provide a spectacular backdrop to the new public square. The facade also lifts up at ground level to create entrances to the building and to the retail units on the ground floor’. Read more

Tas Firin, London

I’ll let you in on a secret. If you’re heading East towards Brick Lane and are hungry, forget about all those cheap and non flavorsome restaurants, which surround the area door to door, encouraging you to come in for a cheap bite. Go around the corner, instead, off Bethnal Green Rd and you’ll find a Turkish favorite, Tas Firin. It’s such a nice surprise: even the décor has a charm, with shoes on the makeshift roof, which in turn is the drinks station. The hummus and halloumi are a must. My favorites are the Adana and Iskender dishes, but don’t order them together as the portions are huge.

Lola’s Kitchen cupcakes

Cupcakes are to urban eating today what sundried tomatoes and pesto were in the 80s. The fad took over in leaps and bounds a few years back and it remains a steadfast part of any stylish city dwellers diet. Perfect then that Lola’s Kitchen in London not only delivers soft, fluffy, just out of the oven cupcakes, but they do so in chic packaging that oozes as much style as their icing does sweet indulgence. Read more

Floating House

This house has many facets that make it an intriguing example. First of all, it is a very aesthetically pleasing project with the use of light horizontal timbers and a clean pitched roof. Designed by MOS, an interesting design collective based in America, the secret to the Floating House is that it floats on a structure of steel pontoons. The house rises and falls with the changing waters and is frozen in place depending on the season. The steel pontoons were constructed first and towed to the lake outside the contractor’s factory and then the house was built atop of it. When finished it was towed to its position, anchored and enjoyed in its unique position. Finally, it forms a bridge between the land and an island. Wonderful!

Torre Bicentenario

Dutch uber-firm OMA, headed by Rem Koolhaas, has created this concept in Mexico City to symbolize the coming two hundred years of Mexico’s independence. There are many layers of symbolism in this building, from Mayan pyramids to which part of the building controls the park and which part controls the city, to the fact that the bulge of the building is below the centre height, and that it all happens on a relatively small footprint. Most of all, in this building there is a barely contained energy that seems near to release and it may be that this is what Torre Bicentenario represents.

Danish Building Bridge

The Danes are renowned for their considered and subtle design. However, in these times of change, they must feel they need something with this selection of a bridge building as the winner of a recent architectural competition in Denmark. The American architect Steven Holl designed this building with a pedestrian bridge that links two sides of the harbour in the distinctly low-rise Copenhagen. Read more